The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.170 - 21 April 2006

Contents

Surrey Hills Festival
Open Gardens
Africa & Spain
Upside-down La Trobe
Real Nappy Week
Opera
From the White Hat Inbox
Comedy
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz

Surrey Hills Festival

This Saturday is the Surrey Hills Festival held in the atmospheric surrounds of the Surrey Hills Railway Station carpark. Details at Community Festivals in Melbourne.

Open Gardens

Once or twice a year, Dame Elizabeth Murdoch opens he property on the Mornington Peninsula to the public in aid of a charity or one of the arts. The property, Cruden Farm, has wonderful gardens and we can recommend it highly as a weekend property. Take a picnic and the family or a special friend or just a good book. I don’t know if any of Dame Elizabeth’s family will be there, but if Rupert steps on the flower bed he will soon find out the he is not a mogul – just a very naughty boy. There is also open day at the rose garden of the Buddhist temple at Yuroke. Details of both events at Garden Festivals in Melbourne.

Africa & Spain

This Sunday at the Arts Centre are special stalls and performances based around Africa. Also this Sunday, the Vic Market has a special ‘Spanish Market within a market’. Details of both at Ethnic Festivals in Melbourne.

Upside-down La Trobe

Today (Friday) the artist who created the inverted statue of La Trobe in Spring Street will give a free talk explaining the concepts he wished to convey. Details at Charles La Trobe.

Governor La Trobe’s wife was Swiss and this led to La Trobe encouraging emigration to Victoria from Switzerland. Many of the Swiss and Northern Italians settled in the Daylesford area. This week there is a major Swiss/Italian Festa in Hepburn Springs near Daylesford. Details at Macedon Ranges & Spa Country.

Real Nappy Week

Next week there are numbers of activities promoting cloth nappies. They should be easy to spot – just look for the faded yellow flags. Details at Family Events in Melbourne.

Opera

Lakmé opens this week in a lavish production at the Arts Centre. At the other end of the budgetary scale is Lyric Opera’s production of Don Pasquale which is great fun. (See our review) For those of you interested in opera and who have been listening to the ABC’s top 100 Opera Moments, you might be interested in our response to the ABC list. You might even want to make suggestions for us to top up our list. See White Hat's Top 100 Opera Excerpts.

From the White Hat Inbox

“Dear Sirs,
You have been sending me your very interesting news letter over the last 12 months and I have found them very interesting. The main reason I originally requested your news letter was because I intended spending ten days in Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games. As it happened, while we were there wasn’t any time left to do other than watch the games. Could I please unsubscribe now as I have Just arrived home after six weeks travelling around Australia and think it will be a few years before I can afford another trip.”

We also had the following personal message:

“hi from portc. the whole gang came down 4 easter & were freaked when they saw the kombi in the back yard. crystal has been helping me fit it out & making sure the feng shui is all correct. craig who got into medicine at melbourne said that i will always have to park it facing the way it is now for the north-south feng shui thingy to happen but he wouldn’t know cos he hasnt studied it like crystal has. still not game to go home. met a cool guy but. ill pay you back 4 the fone soon
love nat”

Comedy

The comedy festival continues this week. Details everywhere. There is a free comedy day at the Collingwood Children’s Farm on Saturday. This is a family-friendly event so all jokes have had to be approved and modified by a number of committees within the Department of Human Services.

Country Victoria

This weekend is the Apollo Bay Music Festival, the Echuca Country Music Festival, the Shakespeare on the River Festival at Avon (I suspect they got busted for using ‘Stratford on Avon Festival’ name without permission) an the King Valley End of Harvest Festival. For details go to our home page and select the appropriate weekend from the drop-down menu of events in Victoria.

The White Hat Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

First to last week's quiz.

First correct entry came from Bernard.

Please note: This section of the newsletter has been removed as it forms part of a forthcoming publication or because it is forms part of our Questing activities. If you find yourself on a tour where the guide is White Hat Accredited they are likely to know the answer to many questions you may have in this area. All guides on White Hat Tours are White Hat Accredited.

Now to this week’s quiz - French women.

1. La Trobe and his Swiss wife settled on a pretty hill in Melbourne. What name did she give this pretty hill?
2. One Melbourne suburb is usually pronounced half in French and half in English. What suburb is this?
3. A certain French lady became well-known and recognized in Melbourne, but for much of her life could not be seen after 6 o’clock. Why?
4. Who is the French artist who created the mural with cherubs at the end of the Flinders Street Station concourse?
5. Where in Melbourne can you see a statue of a famous French woman?

No prizes – just glory and a warm inner glow.